Chances of finding more drops body from the wreck of El Hierro. This Wednesday, Maritime Rescue abandoned the search for the bodies, as confirmed by this editorial staff. After four days of air and sea searches in the area of the tragedy, no results were obtained. For their part, sources from the Government Delegation assure that, even if certain means have been deactivated, the operation continues.
At dawn on September 28, a call sent from the Atlantic put the Canary Islands on alert. A canoe leaving Mauritania with 90 people on board found itself adrift just six kilometers from the westernmost island of the archipelago. When rescue teams reached the boat, desperate to save themselves, migrants gathered on one side of the barge, causing it to capsize. In the middle of the night, rescuers managed to pull the bodies of nine people from the water and bring 27 survivors to safety, but 54 other migrants remained at sea. “It’s almost a miracle to have saved these 27 lives,” said the government delegate to the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana.
From the moment of the tragedy, a vast system was deployed in El Hierro. Two maritime guards, two rescuers and a maritime rescue helicopter, a Civil Guard helicopter and a boat, a helicopter from the Canary Islands government, four divers and four patrol boats were activated and were observing the coast from land in case the remains some people appeared. “. However, the only thing that has been recovered so far is a cloth backpack.
At first, it was thought that bodies might begin to surface two days after the tragedy. However, Anselmo Pestana recognized on Tuesday that the great depth of the area in which the event occurred makes it difficult, due to the pressure, to remove the dead bodies. According to the government delegate, the depths of this enclave go down to a thousand meters and the underwater currents also represent an additional difficulty. In his statements to the media, Pestana indicated that the Civil Guard helicopter would also be withdrawn from the operation.
The municipalities of El Hierro have already buried the nine bodies found. Three of them were buried at the El Mocanal de Valverde cemetery, accompanied by island residents who coordinated not to leave the victims alone during their farewells. The other six victims were fired this Tuesday in La Frontera. Two of them managed to be buried with their first and last name, while in the niches of the others appear only the codes assigned to them by the cayuco number, 190, and the occupant number.
Only one of the survivors remains admitted to the island hospital of El Hierro. He is a 30-year-old Malian who worked as a baker and who took the Atlantic route with his little brother, an 18-year-old who has already been released. Both managed to save their lives thanks to learning to swim in the rivers of their city. “A lot of them don’t know how to swim. For some, it is even the first time they have seen the sea. They do not wear a life jacket either and spend entire days without moving. It is very difficult for them to be able to hold on for a short while in the water until they are rescued,” emergency physician Inmaculada Mora told this editorial office.
Meanwhile, canoes continue to arrive at La Restinga dock. At 2:15 p.m., a large boat reached this port in the south of the island under its own power, escorted by a fishing boat. It was carrying 54 people, including two minors.
